1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a suspension rod adapted to connect a ceiling fan to a ceiling bracket that is used to suspend the ceiling fan from a ceiling. More particularly, this invention relates to a suspension rod provided with a sheath member to enable the suspension rod to match the color, shape or texture of the ceiling fan.
2. Description of the Background Art
Nowadays, ceiling fans are not merely used to produce a current of air, they are also endowed with an ornamental function. As such, the color, shape and texture of a ceiling fan is generally selected so as to highlight the ornamental effect thereof.
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional ceiling fan 10 is shown to include a motor casing 11 in which a motor (not shown) is mounted, a plurality of fan blade brackets 12 mounted on a bottom portion of the motor, a plurality of fan blades 13 mounted to the fan blade brackets 12, and a suspension rod 14 (sometimes referred to as a down-rod) that extends from a top portion of the motor casing 11 and that is adapted to permit electrical cables to pass therethrough for supplying electricity to the motor. The motor casing 11 has an upper major wall 11W defining a central hole 11H of a first dimension. The central hole 11H extends in an axial direction and communicates the upper major wall 11W with the motor. The suspension rod 14 has an upper end 14U connected to a ceiling bracket 15 that is used to suspend the ceiling fan 10 from a ceiling, and a lower end 14L inserted into the central hole 11H in the motor casing 11.
In general, the standard length of the suspension rod 14 is 6xe2x80x3. In places where the ceiling is high such as a cathedral ceiling, a ceiling fan with a 6xe2x80x3 suspension rod cannot provide the desired ventilating effect or clearance. Therefore, there are available on the market 12-inch (or longer) extended suspension rods 14. With reference to FIG. 2, an extended suspension rod 14 replaces the standard-length suspension rod 14.
As the surface of the suspension rod 14 usually has a metallic color of bronze or silver with a circular cross-sectional configuration, it may not match the color, shape (e.g., multi-faceted appearance) or texture (e.g., wood-grain textured appearance) of the ceiling fan 10, and may impair the ornamental aspect of the ceiling fan 10.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide an apparatus which overcomes the aforementioned inadequacies of the prior art devices and provides an improvement which is a significant contribution to the advancement of the ceiling fan suspension rod art.
Another object of this invention is to provide a ceiling fan suspension rod adapted to connect a ceiling fan to a ceiling bracket that is used to suspend the ceiling fan from a ceiling, and provided with a sheath member to enhance the ornamental aspect of the ceiling fan.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects of the invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the intended invention. Many other beneficial results can be obtained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
The invention is defined by the appended claims with a specific embodiment shown in the attached drawings. For the purpose of summarizing the invention, the invention comprises a ceiling fan suspension rod adapted to connect a ceiling fan to a ceiling bracket that is used to suspend the ceiling fan from a ceiling, and provided with a sheath member to enhance the ornamental aspect of the ceiling fan.
More particularly, a typical ceiling fan includes a motor, a motor casing, and a plurality of fan blades. The motor casing is disposed to enclose the motor therein, and has an upper major wall defining a central hole of a first dimension. The central hole extends in an axial direction and communicates the upper major wall with the motor. The fan blades are disposed to be distal to the upper major wall in the axial direction, and to be driven by the motor to rotate relative to the motor casing.
According to the present invention, the suspension rod includes a ball portion, an elongated tubular portion, and a sheath member. The ball portion is adapted to be fitted into a socket portion of the ceiling bracket. The elongated tubular portion is adapted to permit electrical cables to pass therethrough for providing electricity to the motor, and includes an upper end, a lower end, and an intermediate portion. The upper end is integrally formed with or rigidly connected to the ball portion. The lower end is distal to the ball portion and is adapted to be inserted into and rigidly secured to the central hole in the motor casing. The intermediate portion is disposed between the upper end and the lower end, and has an outer diameter of a second dimension that is smaller than the first dimension. The sheath member is disposed to surround and extend along the length of the intermediate portion, thereby enabling a display of color, shape or texture different from that of the intermediate portion so as to be the same color, shape or texture or an aesthetically-pleasing coordinated color, shape or texture of the ceiling fan. In this manner, the sheath member may include many different colors, shapes and textures, or combinations thereof, as may be desirable to be aesthetically coordinated with the particular ceiling fan. For example, the sheath may comprise a brown color with a wood-grain texture and a multi-faceted cross-sectional shaped that is more coordinated (than prior art metallic suspension rods) with a corresponding brown ceiling fan having a multi-faceted wood-grain appearance.
The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the more pertinent and important features of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood so that the present contribution to the art can be more fully appreciated. Additional features of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and the specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.